A Tale of Two Twins
by TheJesusFreak777
Summary: "No, Fred never truly died," I say. "The marks he left on the world will never really disappear." One-shot.


**A/N: I'm feeling very nostalgic. Please review! Constructive criticism is welcome! Some of the last bit I made up myself, so it might not make a lot of sense. It's a reference to my other fanfic, Damage Control, which you need to check out.**

**A Tale of Two Twins**

"Daddy! Daddy! Tell us a bedtime story!" begged a little girl with dark, curly hair. She sat in her bed beside a boy even younger than her. She was around seven, but her brother was not a day over five. The boy looked nothing like his sister. He was freckled and had lots of red hair.

"All right," I say, smiling, leaning down and kissing my daughter's forehead. She snuggled deeper into her blankets, looking content. "What do you want me to tell you about?"

"Something nice," murmured the boy, his eyes half-shut.

"All right, Fred," I say. I close my eyes for a moment, feeling fresh pain in my heart. "Did I ever tell you A Tale of Two Twins?"

"No," Roxanne says eagerly. "But I've heard of A Tale of Two Cities before."

"You're just like Aunt Hermione and your cousin Rose, darling, that must be where you got so smart. There once was a huge family. There was a mummy, a daddy, and six brothers, and one daughter."

"That's almost as big as Uncle Charlie's family," the girl says eagerly. "Because there's Uncle Charlie, Aunt Themis, Ezra, Adelise, Lenore, Orion, Justine, and Judah."

"That's right, Roxanne," I say, smiling. I ruffle her hair. "The oldest brother was very smart and very good at Quidditch. He was probably the nicest brother, but when he got older, he moved out of his parents' house and left them with five sons and one daughter." The door behind me creaks open, and Angelina comes and sits down on the bed beside me.

"What happened to him?" Fred asks drowsily.

"He went to Egypt for a while," I say, smiling. "And then he got married and began a family."

"And lived happily ever after?" Roxanne asks, her eyes wide.

"Yes, they lived happily ever after," I agree, unable to quit grinning. "Then it was the second brother's turn. Like Bill-er, his brother-he was good at Quidditch and was a Head Boy at his school. He was the most reasonable son. But he went to Romania for work."

"That's where Uncle Charlie and Aunt Themis live!" Fred announces. "Blimey, I wonder if they know each other..."

"Oh yes, Uncle Charlie knows him better than anyone. The brother got married and began his family," I say, laughing. "But then the third brother came along. He was very strange."

"Be nice," Angelina chides, but she's grinning.

"All right, he was probably the smartest boy in the family, but he didn't always get along with his parents. The third brother got in a fight with his dad," I say. "And then he ran away."

"That's not very nice," Roxanne says, affronted, her voice slightly muffled.

Angelina and I exchange an amused glance. "No, it's not," Angelina agrees. "And then there were two twin brothers."

"D'you know this story too, Mummy?" Fred asks, sitting up.

"Oh, yes," she says, tucking him in.

"What were the twins' names?" Roxanne asks wisely.

"One was named Fred," I say, "and the other was George."

"That's my name!" Fred exclaims. "And daddy, isn't your name George...?"

"Yes, yes, but these were other people," Angelina says, her smile now even more melancholy.

"How funny," Fred murmurs.

"Shhh!" Roxanne whispers sharply. "I want to hear the rest of this!"

"You're so much like Hermione, sweetie, it's rather funny," I say. "The twins were very foolish sons and always got into trouble, but they were always funny and made people happy. Their mummy and daddy loved them more than they deserved. One day they ran away from their school and started their own store."

"Wicked," breathes Fred. "When I grow up, I want to own my own store, too, just like you, Daddy!"

I close my eyes again, my heart clenching. "But those were very Dark times in the world, and the last brother ran away with two of his friends on a quest. He was very brave, and he saved the world, really."

"I want to be like that," Roxanne says importantly.

"Then there was a very big fight," Angelina says quietly, "against the good people and the bad people. The brother who'd had the row came back to the family and apologized."

"Then what?" Fred asks enthusiastically.

"One of the twins, Fred, went on a trip," I say, shutting my eyes hard as tears wet my lashes. I open them again and am surprised by how steady my voice is. "And his family missed him very much, because he never came back."

"Did Fred die?" my daughter asks in a hushed voice.

"No," I say, meeting Angelina's eyes. "No, Fred never truly died. Because the marks he left on the world never died, honey. That twin was probably the bravest brother of them all."

"What about the sister?"

"The sister was just like all of them," I say. "She was very smart and excellent at Quidditch, and she was nice to everyone. She made the most reasonable decisions and was almost as funny as her older brothers and the bravest girl in all of England."

"Then what happened?" Fred asks sleepily. He was nearly asleep.

"The third brother got very sick," Angelina says. "He almost died. But the family realized they no longer got along, and they all became very good friends again."

"But the twin who was left was always very depressed, because he no longer had his brother. But then he met a wonderful woman," I say, smiling at Angelina. "And they fell in love, and had a daughter and a son. They lived happily ever after."

"That's a right good story, Daddy," Roxanne says.

"Yes," Angelina agrees. "It's the best story there is."


End file.
